Japan's ACB develops method for mass-producing collagen

A method of mass-producing collagen using human fibroblast cells has been developed by biotechnology start-up Applied Cell Biotechnologies of Yokohama, Japan. Collagen, the protein that gives skin its luster and resiliency, is traditionally produced by extraction from cows. With the mad cow disease scare and restrictions on bovine collagen, a huge demand has arisen from food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical makers for collagen from other sources. Extraction from pigs and fish is also increasing, but human-derived collagen has the advantage of being non-allergenic.

ACB has developed cell-culturing techniques for use in cell engineering and regenerative medicine. To mass-produce human collagen, fibroblasts from human skin are cultured on a special support matrix inside containers. The matrix provides a scaffold on which the fibroblasts can attach and grow in three dimensions, resembling grape clusters, rather than dispersed on the bottom of the container.

Using this method, each container can yield around five times as much collagen as traditional two-dimensional cell-culturing methods. Also, unlike the conventional methods, the cells do not need a nutrient supply of blood serum, thus collagen can be produced for around one-tenth the current cost, it is claimed.